Pages

December 26, 2012

Trip to Prášilské jezero

During our summer stay in Šumava we visited "Prášilské jezero". It is a glacial lake situated in the Šumava National Park at the altitude of 1080 metres above sea level.

First we needed to climb a hill but as it was a beautiful sunny day accompanied by blue sky covered with occasional white puffy clouds, we really enjoyed the hike.

At one place along the path up, people had built these small stone piles which looked very cute but I have no idea whether there was any meaning behind them.

There were a few wind storms which severely damaged the woods in the area and the forest surrounding the lake was left to self-recover.

There are no fish present in the lake, supposedly because of its acidity, but there were a few ducks enjoying the cold water of the lake.

On our way back we spent some time by a brook which was crossing our way. It might have been the Lake brook taking water off the lake.

On our way to the lake we followed a stony path leading through woods and I have to say that's what I like when hiking. Because we didn't want to take the same way up and down, we chose another path for our return which unfortunately turned out to be a road covered in asphalt suitable especially for cyclists who are quite frequent there. It was the only downside of the trip for me. Not counting that I was enchanted by the variety of sceneries and beauty of the nature. No wonder that the area is protected within the first zone of nature protection of the Šumava National Park.

16 comments:

We call those piles of stones "cairns." Doug and I have seen them from time to time, marking a trail where the trail might otherwise be hard to follow. But I've never seen such as cluster of them as you have shown here. That certainly arouses curiosity. I love that beautiful little waterfall. So pretty.

Red, I can imagine staying in the spot for a while, collecting stones of various sizes and piling them, it would be fun. Especially with kids... I guess someone started the first one(s) and others walking by added other ones gradually.

Red, first I saw such cairns in Norway, many years ago. I've never heard of Inukshuks so I've googled them and found many interesting pieces of information. Inukshuks are often built in the shape of a human figure but also they may be represented by a single stone or a pile of stones. It sounds probable that the meaning of all of these piles really serves for orientation purposes and saying "I was here".

Sometimes we see cairns to signify someone's presence in a very special place, Petra. "I was here," kind of thing or "this is a holy place." I love that you have a beautiful area like this that is protected in your country. May it ever be so!

Ginnie, I would understand that I-was-here meaning thoroughly, people are prone to leaving their traces this way. :)

What I like most about the protection is the fact that it started so many years ago, in some cases reaching back to the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Such awareness of environmental issues seems admirable.